1. Technical Field
The present invention is directed toward pivot structures, and more particularly toward a pivot structure for connecting a window lock handle to its housing.
2. Background Art
Window locks are, of course, well known. One common window lock type uses a handle pivotally mounted to a housing which is itself mounted to the window frame, and a keeper is mounted to the movable window sash. The handle may be manually pivoted to move a grasping member into and out of engagement with the keeper to lock or release the window sash as desired.
Commonly, such lock handles have been pivotally secured to the housing by a rivet. Further, a spring washer has commonly been disposed between the handle and the housing, such washer frictionally engaging the handle to create a torque necessary to operate (i.e., pivot) the handle. However, such lock structures can have a tendency to lose the operating torque initially manufactured into the lock, such that the handle eventually may be able to rotate freely relative to the housing. In installations where there are two such locks and the sash is moved by an operator crank, this can make it virtually impossible for one person to open or close the window (needless to say, it is very difficult for a person having only two hands to hold two lock handles in the necessary position while also turning the operator crank).
Still other pivot structures are, of course, known and used in other types of environments as shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,821,374, 4,639,147, 4,638,544, 4,630,333, 4,630,332, 4,586,750, and 4,018,104. However, these structures do not solve the above mentioned problem of failure to retain initial operating torque, are difficult to assemble, are undesirably expensive to manufacture, and/or are not readily adaptable for use in the limited space allowed for such window lock pivots.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,533 discloses one solution which has been used to avoid the above mentioned problems, using a sleeve with a central tubular opening disposed within concentric housing and handle openings. The sleeve has an outer diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the housing and handle openings, and a cylindrical pin having an outer diameter greater than the inner diameter of the sleeve tubular opening is wedged into the sleeve tubular opening so as to bias the sleeve outwardly into beveled portions of the handle opening, whereby the handle is frictionally maintained in position relative to the housing until moved by an operator. The present invention is directed toward improving upon the invention disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,533.